STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Rutgers volleyball nearly pulled off the first frame upset at No. 18 Penn State at Rec Hall on Friday night, but the defending national champions were able to come back and hand the Scarlet Knights a 25-23, 25-19, 25-13 loss.
 

• Sophomore Aspen Maxwell led RU with eight kills and a pair of aces and added a trio of blocks.
• Classmate Lily Bolen collected her seventh career double-double and fifth of the season behind 22 helpers and 10 digs on the evening.
• Sophomore Alleigh Dutton also joined Bolen with a match-high 10 digs.
• Fellow sophomore Natalie Robinson led the block with four total stops.

• SET 1 (23-25) | Rutgers was looking to make the defending national champions unhappy in Happy Valley in the opening frame as they held 21-18 lead. After an Aspen Maxwell kill, the Nittany Lions clawed back with four straight for their first lead since a 7-6 edge. Zora Hardison punched back to knot the score at 22-22 and Lexi Visintine kept RU alive with a swing that saw her squad trail 24-23. Kennedy Martin, who would go on to collect a match-high 16 kills, finished out the set.

• SET 2 (19-25) | Penn State surged out to a 12-4 advantage, but Rutgers narrowed the gap behind a 5-1 burst to close the gap to 13-9. The Nittany Lions, however, were able to extend their lead to 24-15. The Scarlet Knights pushed back with four unanswered, including kills from Maxwell and Natalie Robinson and the two teaming up for a stop, but ultimately it was Martin putting away the stanza for PSU.

• SET 3 (13-25) | The Nittany Lions never trailed and hit a match-best .444 to close out the night. Avery Jesewitz came off the bench for a swing as RU trailed 11-8, but the Scarlet Knights were limited to five points the rest of the way.  

• Rutgers volleyball travels to Iowa on Sunday, Oct. 26 for a 1 p.m. (ET) match on BTN with Chris Vosters and Anna Connelly on the call.
• The Scarlet Knights' next home games will be on Friday, Nov. 7, at Jersey Mike's Arena against Michigan and Sunday, Nov. 9, against Ohio State at the College Ave Gym. Admission is free to the College Ave Gym. Click here to purchase tickets for matches at Jersey Mike's Arena.